One of my favorite authors is Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, former New York Times reporter and now a professor at the University of Alabama. Last spring, I had the chance to meet him when he came to the Society of Professional Journalists spring conference at the University of Florida. He spoke about storytelling and his experiences as a journalist and writer.
Bragg’s ability to paint a picture, tell a story and craft a phrase is remarkable. If you haven’t read his first book, “All Over But the Shoutin’,” I highly recommend it. It’s an autobiography of his life growing up in rural Alabama.
His latest work is “The Prince of Frogtown,” another book about his family. This one focuses on his father and Bragg’s relationship with his stepson. I’m just a few chapters into it, but so far, it’s great. I also used a collection of his newspaper stories when teaching at the College of Charleston last fall. The students really enjoyed it.
Bragg did a book signing last week at a bookstore here in Charleston, so I took my family and went. Plus, I wanted to catch up with him about possibly speaking at the SPJ national convention in September in Atlanta. He is always so gracious and kind. He spent plenty of time answering questions, signing books and was genuinely interested in what people had to say.
If you’re looking for some good summer reads, check out Bragg’s books. And, here’s a link to his book tour schedule.